Category: Articles

What is heroin? Heroin is one of the group of drugs known as opiates. Other opiates include opium, morphine, codeine, pethidine, and methadone. It originates from the opium poppy. Heroin is a depressant and slows down the central nervous system and messages going to and from the brain. Heroin is whi …

What is bipolar disorder? Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that was previously referred to as manic depression. It affects the normal functioning of the brain so that the person experiences extreme moods – mania and depression. People may also experience psychosis in the manic and/or depressed p …

What is psychosis? Psychosis is a condition in which the functioning of a person’s brain is severely disrupted, affecting that person’s thoughts, perceptions, emotions and behaviour. Typically, a person experiencing psychosis will have disordered thoughts and speech, and difficulty in distinguishing …

The stress-vulnerability-coping model of mental illness can help people with a mental illness, and their carers, to recognise important factors that influence the likelihood of mental illness recovery or relapse. Sometimes, it may also be useful in understanding how mental illnesses arise in the fir …

Understanding dual diagnosis: Mental illness and substance use Dual diagnosis is when a person is affected by both mental illness and substance use (also referred to as the use of alcohol and/or drugs). Mental illness and substance use interact to make each diagnosis worse and to have serious, adver …

Signs of mental illness and what to do Mental illness directly affects one in five Australians at some stage in their lives It may seem like this person is on drugs, or that they are just being difficult. But there’s a chance that they have a mental illness. Mental illness is more common than you ma …

Substance use When someone has problematic substance use such as alcohol or other drug use, it takes a number of steps to recover. Gaining an understanding of where someone is in the cycle of change can help determine what interventions are likely to be most effective. For example, someone in the ‘p …

What is worry? In our busy world, it’s not unusual to feel worried at times. You may worry about your family, your job, your health and other personal issues. You may worry about friends and your community. And you may worry about issues facing the entire world. Sometimes, though, worry becomes a pr …

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia and is recognised as the third most prevalent drug of dependence following alcohol and tobacco. Cannabis use is increasing among younger age groups. 14.9% of people using cannabis for the first time are aged between 1-19 years. The use of ca …

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a distressing/traumatic event that caused extreme fear, defenselessness or shock. POSSIBLE CAUSES of TRAUMA: PTSD can result from any experienced traumas such as: Rape Natural Disasters Domestic Vio …

Communicate. We have never had it so good. Economically Britain is succeeding as never before. We can argue about the equity of the distribution of the wealth in Britain, but of the country’s unprecedented success in generating material wealth there can be no doubt. Effective Communications Coincide …

Maneuvering And Rules In The Triangle of co-dependency. Now that you have a basic understanding of the positions in the triangle of co-dependency there are a number of key points to consider remembering: The Triangle is based on lies. Tell a lie to yourself or someone else, whether it is a lie about …

Why has cause of narcissism permeated our world? The answer: Because we have not evolved (as a world society) to understand the necessity to create an authentic emotional self. To be ‘at one’ with ourselves, life and others is a very spiritual experience. To not be ‘at one’ is a hellish experience – …

Find healing after unfaithfulness Healing after unfaithfulness – After the devastating discovery that your partner has been cheating on you, it can sometimes feel as if it isn’t worth the effort it’s going to take to rebuild your marriage. Sometimes you wonder whether you’d be better off cutting you …

Co-dependency is treatable, and with the appropriate treatment there is hope for individuals that are struggling with this disorder. Difficulty having fun. Hyper-sensitivity to criticism. Rigidity and need to control. Constant seeking of approval and affirmation, yet having a compromised sense of se …